Upper Merion Skate Park holds brick sale, plans naming ceremony

UPPER MERION — The idea for a skate park in Upper Merion seemed novel when Upper Merion Township Police Det. Les Glauner and others first introduced the plan to the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors. Glauner and the others, who ultimately formed the Skate Park Committee, believed that building the park would be beneficial not just for children and teenagers who skate but for businesses and other areas where those skaters currently hone their craft.

“Being a police officer, I see the kids around and we’re always getting calls about kids skateboarding,” Glauner said. “It’s more of a safe place for the kids to go and it gets them out the way of businesses.”

Since that revelation and subsequent approval from the supervisors, the members of the Skate Park Committee, along with local youth who one day hope to skate freely at the park, have tirelessly planned and fundraised to raise the necessary funds for the park, which was a requirement set forth by the supervisors when the efforts were initially approved a few years ago

Since that time, the group has raised approximately $27,000 for the park. Now, in an effort to reinvigorate the campaign and raise even more money for the park, the committee has begun selling bricks that can be engraved with messages that will ultimately be placed in the skate park once it is built.

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The bricks, which can be engraved, come in three sizes – 4”x8”, 8”x8”, and 12”x12” – and four different price levels ranging from $25 to $100 for a business brick that can include a company logo.

“We just started it about a month ago and we’re hoping to do about 2,000 bricks,” explained Glauner, who also serves as the chairman of the Skate Park Committee. “The bricks are going to form a pathway as the entrance of the skate park.”

The committee has also obtained the services of a local excavator, which has volunteered its services to do the excavation work at the park but wishes to remain anonymous until the work begins.

With the fundraising efforts gaining momentum in recent months, the committee has begun moving forward with the planning process, seeking out a firm to make drawings that the township requires before building can begin.

“Now that we have some money, we are actually in the process of getting some engineer drawings made,” explained Glauner. “Once those are done, they will be presented to the Board of Supervisors. We have to go through the planning process with the board and once we get the plans approved, then we can move forward.”

With the fundraising and planning efforts at a pace previously unseen, a second monumental step is being undertaken when a dedication and naming ceremony is scheduled to be held on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m. behind the Upper Merion Township Building, which is the future location of the park.

“I figure if there can be baseball fields and football fields, why can’t there be a place for skateboarders?” he asked.

For more information on the Upper Merion Skate Park or to purchase a brick, visit www.umskateboardpark.com or contact Glauner through email at lglauner@umtownship.org.